Settlement Agreement Revokes Singer’s Registration, Prohibits Him
From Trading For Five Years, and Imposes a $75,000 Civil Monetary Penalty,
Among Other Sanctions

WASHINGTON--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today
the issuance of an order accepting an
offer of settlement from Michael Singer, a floor trader on the New York
Board of Trade, in connection with a complaint alleging trade practice fraud
filed by the CFTC on October 19, 1992 (See CFTC News Release #3574-92, October
19, 1992).

The CFTC order, filed on August 23, 1999, finds that Singer, a registered
floor broker, violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) by cheating and
defrauding his customers in the handling of their orders while trading on the
Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. The CFTC order further finds that Singer
violated provisions of the CEA and the CFTC's regulations prohibiting
noncompetitive trading; bucketing of customer orders, price changes, fictitious
sales, wash sales and accommodation trades; and causing the reporting of
non-bona fide prices.

According to the CFTC's order, Singer noncompetitively executed trades
with other brokers and local traders to enable Singer to bucket his own
customer orders; illegally took the opposite side of his customers' orders;
illicitly offset two customer orders opposite the same floor trader at
advantageous prices to that trader; benefited from changes to execution prices
on customer orders while trading for himself; and aided and abetted another
floor broker to indirectly bucket that broker's customers' orders.

Singer, without admitting or denying the findings, consented to the entry of
the order:

>-- finding that Singer cheated and defrauded his customers (section 4b(a)
of the CEA); engaged in noncompetitive trading and fictitious sales (section
4c(a)(A) of the CEA, and CFTC regulation 1.38(a)); and caused prices to be
reported which were not true and bona fide (section 4c(a)(B) of the
CEA);

>-- directing Singer to cease and desist from further violations;

>-- prohibiting Singer from trading for five years;

>-- revoking Singer's registration with the Commission; and

>-- assessing Singer a civil monetary penalty of $75,000.

Singer also agreed never to apply for registration or claim exemption from
registration with the CFTC or to act in any capacity requiring registration or
for which exemption from registration may be claimed.

The litigation continues as to the remaining respondents found liable by the
CFTC's Administrative Law Judge in his Initial Decision issued on May 5,
1999, which is now on appeal to the Commission.